Roots of Evolution in Shipchu Forest ( Helminthostachys ,zeylanica. L) Written by S.

Sherpa IFS, West Bengal

Pteridophyta a class of plants which dominated the world thousands of years ago being the pre dominant species which had covered this green earth. The group of plants that contribute true the present day carbon energy source in the form of coal. The immense energy trapped by these groups of plant in the form of carbon deriving directly from the solar energy of those days is now available to us in its fossilised form. We have been using this stored energy source to this very day in different form by converting this precious store energy and igniting our intellectual capability resulting in revolutionising our human race in the form of industries, industrialisation, mechanisation, development and advancement. Today, the role and presence of this group of plants has been reduce drastically because of the interferences that the human raised has been imposing upon thereby leading to a situation rendering them highly vulnerable. It is only a matter of hundred more years that the present available species could face extension which has already been considered rarer and endangered Among many such species being considered endangered coming under the Pteridophyta group that exists today and reported from small pocket scattered around the world, Pteridophyta , ( Helminthostachys ,zeylanica. L) Can be considered as one. To the surprised of our observation we have come a cross to find the existence of this endangered species (Helminthostachys ,zeylanica. L) in the forest of Shipchu Beat under Chalsa Range Jalpaiguri Division .( N 26* 57 10.1 / E 088* 51 42.1) The Classification of Helminthostachys ,zeylanica. L stands as follows: Kingdom : Planta Division: Pteridophyta Class : Psilotopsida Order : Ophioglossales Family : Helminthostachyseae Genus : Helminthostachys Species : zeylanica Helminthostachys ,zeylanica. L is a monotypic genus being found in the Indo-Malaysia rejoins and the Polynesian Island s including New Zeeland. In India it is found in eastern U.P., Uttarakhand , Assam,Bengal,and South India . In Bengal the species has been reported from Sundarban and the Paschim Dinajpur , but no such report of existence has been recorded from this part of Bengal ( Doors, North Bengal) . Helminthostachys ,zeylanica. L is an annual plant measuring height up to 2.0 feet long. It has Cluster of Sporangia on stems of fertile spike like fronds. The rhizome is short, creeping stout and underground. Leaves are lanceolate with entire or irregularly serrate margin .A single leave folds in one season there by monophyllous . The spike measure up to 15 cm long arising from leave base have a its own stripe .A sterile leaf arises below the spike known as trophophore . The tropopho and sporophore rise from a common petiole. The plant as of whole or its parts thereof is being use for various medicinal purposes around the world. The use of this plant draws special attention for each medicinal value. The plant has properties of intoxication which

preferably is used for disease like sciatica. The rhizome of the plant is being taken as a tonic during Hooping calf, and used in diseases like dysentry and as decoction for impotency. The chemical constituent available in the plant rhizome consists of flevonoids; Ugonin A, B, C and D, stigma sterol, fucosterol and dulcitol (Asolkar et al., 1992).